I was born a human polygraph machine. No one, not even the most seasoned manipulator, could stand before me and successfully lie. I was eight years old when the head of the group home—a man named Mr. Thompson—stood on stage, weeping into the microphone. “Funding is tight, children,” he choked out, his voice thick with fake despair. “We all need to tighten our belts. We can only afford meat once every three months from now on.” I immediately pointed a finger at his blotchy face. “That’s a load of crap!” I yelled. “You just bought your mistress a brand-new, six-figure SUV last month using the foundation’s charity funds! Did you think we wouldn’t notice?” The man’s face went from ashen to a deep, toxic purple. He was arrested for embezzlement a week later. When I was twelve, a seemingly perfect, well-dressed couple came to adopt. All the other girls were frantically pasting on their sweetest smiles, trying to look perfectly obedient. I just stared at the man. Then, I grabbed the closest thing—a broom—and slammed it down on his polished wingtip shoes. “The woman next to you isn’t your wife! She’s a paid actress!” “You’re not married, but you’re here to adopt a little girl? What kind of sick predator are you? Get out, you pervert!” The man scurried out of there, practically wetting himself. He was later apprehended and booked for a series of sickening crimes. After that, no one dared to pull any fast ones in front of me. Eventually, my birth parents, the Caldwells, came to take me back to their sprawling estate. The girl who had stolen my identity for the last two decades, Lila Reed, rushed up to me, tears welling in her impossibly wide, beautiful eyes. “Rhia, you’re finally home! This is wonderful!” she cried, clutching my hand. “We’re a family now. We have to promise to get along. No drama, okay?” I only needed one look at her face before I spoke, my voice cold and flat. “Your pupils just blew wide, your heart rate spiked—I’d guess a frantic 150—and that tiny, involuntary tremor in your right pinky? That’s pure adrenaline signaling deceit.” “Every single part of that was a lie.” “You’re happy to see me?” “Stop the theatrics, Lila. You’re trying to con a con artist.” 1 Lila’s porcelain face flushed white, then crimson, then a dangerous, angry red. “Rhia... how could you say that?” she stammered, her expression dissolving into fragile misery. “I truly am happy to have you back.” My mother immediately stepped in, wrapping an arm protectively around Lila’s shoulders, shooting me a look of deep disapproval. “Rhiannon, your language is awful! Lila is making an effort here, and you’re just being difficult and overly sensitive!” My father’s face was set in a deep scowl. “It was a nurse’s mistake twenty years ago, Rhia. Lila had nothing to do with it.” “She has been a kind, obedient, and devoted daughter to us all these years. She is a Caldwell in every way that matters.” “You were born to us; she was raised by us. We won’t choose sides. Now that you’re home, we won’t just send her away. We expect you to be the bigger person. Show some grace.” I scoffed, my eyes raking over the two strangers who were biologically my parents. “Of course Lila isn’t happy I’m back! That’s just human nature! No one likes to have their life interrupted, their title revoked.” “Unsolicited kindness is usually a cover for malice. Don’t try to play this fake, sweet-family drama in front of me. It’s making me sick.” My parents’ faces tightened with visible displeasure, their eyes betraying a carefully concealed layer of disgust. They clearly saw their biological daughter as coarse, wild, and utterly lacking in the polish of the upper class—like some street urchin they’d scraped off the curb. The House Manager, a slick man named Franklin, approached me, his demeanor overly deferential. “Miss Rhiannon, your room is ready. Everything is brand new. I assure you, you will be very comfortable.” I didn't move. I simply watched him for two slow seconds before walking past him and into the opulent bedroom. When I re-emerged, I was holding a discreetly placed listening device and a tiny pinhole camera. “Is this what you meant by ‘comfortable,’ Franklin? Talk. Who told you to bug my room?” Franklin dropped instantly to his knees, his eyes wide with terror, then shot a desperate look toward Lila. “Miss Lila, you have to say something! You told me to—” “You’re lying!” Lila shrieked, cutting him off instantly. “Mom! Dad! He’s trying to blame me!” “How could I possibly do something like this the moment my sister gets home?” My mother was already moving to comfort Lila. My father frowned deeply, addressing me. “Rhiannon, maybe Franklin was concerned for your safety and wanted to keep an eye out for you?” “He’s served this family for twenty years. He’s earned our loyalty. This is a small thing. Don’t make a scene.” “A small thing?” I laughed, the sound sharp and humorless. “Invading my privacy is a ‘small thing’? We can either fire him, or we can call the police. You choose.” My parents, unwilling to risk a media scandal, had Franklin pack his bags and disappear by the morning. After that, everyone in the Caldwell house treated me with hushed caution. No one dared to be two-faced again. But my parents’ expressions were even more distant, more annoyed. “You’re internally cursing me right now, aren’t you? You think I’m an absolute nightmare, a disruptive force?” I simply smiled, completely uncaring. “Good. That’s who I am. Get used to it.” 2 That evening, Preston Mills, the man I was promised to since birth, arrived at the house. The Caldwell and Mills families were old money, long-time associates. But while the Caldwells had flourished, the Mills fortune had shrunk. Fortunately, my parents weren't completely mercenary; they hadn’t broken the engagement, and Dad had even given Preston a seat as an independent director at the Caldwell Group. Preston was handsome and polished, his face fixed in a flawlessly charming, gentle smile. “Rhia, welcome home. When should we set the date?” he said, stepping forward. “I promise you, I will make you the happiest woman in the world.” I crossed my arms and slowly appraised him. “Your cadence is steady, like an AI narrator—completely devoid of real emotion. You subtly adjusted your cufflink before shaking hands, a classic sign of over-compensating for internal anxiety.” “Preston, the deception level of those few sentences is hovering at about 99%. I think the only thing that wasn't a lie was the period at the end.” I wasn’t in the mood to spar. “There’s no need to force this. A strong marriage needs more than a family contract. You can’t squeeze juice from a rock.” I glanced at Lila, who was conspicuously listening in, her ears practically perked up. “You and Lila are clearly more familiar with each other. I won’t steal your thunder. I’m giving the engagement to her.” A sudden, brilliant flicker of naked desire and hope flashed in Lila’s eyes as she turned expectantly toward Preston. Preston’s face tightened for a fraction of a second, but then he quickly shifted his gaze back to me, his tone suddenly resolute, utterly sincere. “Rhia, you misunderstand! I meant every word I just said! They came straight from the heart.” “Lila is like a sister to me, nothing more. I have never felt anything romantic for her. It’s you I’m falling for. We were betrothed at birth—this is fate!” He grew more animated, even reaching out to grab my hand. “To be honest, before you even came home, I used to dream about a girl. Her face, her profile... it was exactly like yours! This is destiny, Rhia…” I dodged his clammy reach and picked up the hot cup of Earl Grey tea on the side table. Without a second thought, I tossed the contents right in his face. “Shut up! Those cheesy lines are so old I nearly choked on my own spit!” “Stop using your canned, manipulative lines on me. I don’t buy the fantasy.” Preston, spluttering and soaked, immediately backed away, his suave performance shattered. Lila glared at me, her eyes burning with a hateful, poisonous jealousy. Yet, despite my blatant rejection and hostility, Preston still insisted on marrying me. This man was persistent, and behind that persistence, there was clearly something rotten. Luckily, I had a contingency plan. Why didn’t I call the police on Franklin the House Manager? Not out of mercy, but because I needed him. Though he was gone, I knew he had allies in the staff. I’d given him a hefty payment to have his contacts discreetly plant a micro-camera and a listening device in Lila’s room. This was an eye for an eye. Sure enough, that night, a shifty-eyed Preston snuck into Lila’s bedroom. The couple immediately fell into a furious tangle, the massive bed shaking violently. Afterward, the dogs started plotting. “Preston, baby, you don’t love me anymore, do you? Why are you still trying to marry that freak?” Preston chuckled, a cold, snake-like sound. “Of course I love you.” “But Rhiannon is the official heir to the Caldwell fortune. I have to marry her first, get the family’s assets firmly in my grasp!” “Once I have the papers signed, I’ll dump her instantly! Then, the entire Caldwell empire, and you, will be mine!” “Lila, you won’t feel guilty, will you? Once it’s done, not only will Rhiannon be out, but I’ll make sure your adoptive parents are dealt with too!” “Total cleanup. No loose ends.” Lila nestled against his chest, her voice laced with greed and venom. “Of course not! I hate those old fools!” “This was all supposed to be mine! Who is Rhiannon to come back and steal it? They never should have found her! I hate every single person in this family!” I listened to their vicious planning, a cold smile forming on my lips. Trying to run a con on a human lie detector? Game on.
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